Egypt's revolution has taken a drastic turn in the last month. For those of you who have not seen the news, or given up trying to make sense of it, here is a recap:
- Early this summer, Anti-Morsi activists started a petition calling for an immediate end to the President's term. Within weeks of circulation, the petition gathered more than 22 million signatures.
- Upon hearing of the petition, President Morsi made a statement saying that he refused to step down because he was democratically elected.
- On June 30, 2013, exactly one year after Morsi was elected to office, some 15 million Egyptians took to the streets to call for Morsi's ouster. Supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood filled the streets as well. Several deaths occurred amid the protests that day.
- Three days later, the army stepped in to remove Morsi from office and placed him and his cabinet members under house arrest.
- Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters continue to demonstrate against his arrest and call for his reinstatement.
The issue the rest of the world has fixated on is whether or not to call this series of events a "coup." Technically, the military did remove the president by force. However, they only did so because of popular demand, which blurs the line between "coup" and "revolution."
The reason for the U.S. government's preoccupation with terms is the $1.6 billion in foreign aid it gives to the Egyptian Army every year, as it has since 1979 as part of the Egypt-Israeli peace settlement. (Something which has made many Egyptians question the U.S. government's intentions over the years.) There is a stipulation in this agreement which says that the foreign aid must cease in the event of a coup. The U.S. government does not want to have to put this clause into effect, because doing so would compromise the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. The Egyptian military has also used much of the U.S. foreign aid money to by weapons and equipment from U.S. companies.
The other issue raised by this change of events is whether or not Morsi's removal from office was legitimate. But I share the opinion of many on this issue: if Morsi had wished to demonstrate his commitment to the democratic process, he should have offered to hold immediate re-elections, and let the people decide by democratic vote whether or not he should stay. Instead, he gave a dictatorial response and refused to step down.
Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood had already demonstrated their unwillingness to listen to outside opinion. For the last year, they have ignored every suggestion. They made no progress in addressing Egypt's multitude of pressing issues. They had the chance to make history as the founders of Egypt's progress; instead, they made history as another failed iteration of Egypt's government.
I am confident that the next phase will be more successful. After Morsi's removal, the head judge of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour, was appointed interim President. He assembled a cabinet of technocrats and chose economist Hazem el-Beblawi as Prime Minister. He also appointed Muhammed ElBaradei as interim Vice President. ElBaradei has been an active and eloquent voice of the opposition movement in Egypt since the revolution began in January 2011.
The existing Parliament has been dissolved, and elections for a new Parliament will take place this fall. Presidential elections will follow in February 2014. In the meantime, a committee will form to revise the existing Egyptian constitution and address some of the items that have been controversial. Having a constitution in place prior to presidential elections will help to ensure that the next president does not exceed the boundaries of his office.
Stay tuned...
- Early this summer, Anti-Morsi activists started a petition calling for an immediate end to the President's term. Within weeks of circulation, the petition gathered more than 22 million signatures.
- Upon hearing of the petition, President Morsi made a statement saying that he refused to step down because he was democratically elected.
- On June 30, 2013, exactly one year after Morsi was elected to office, some 15 million Egyptians took to the streets to call for Morsi's ouster. Supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood filled the streets as well. Several deaths occurred amid the protests that day.
- Three days later, the army stepped in to remove Morsi from office and placed him and his cabinet members under house arrest.
- Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters continue to demonstrate against his arrest and call for his reinstatement.
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| Protesters gather in Tahrir Square on June 30, 2013. |
The issue the rest of the world has fixated on is whether or not to call this series of events a "coup." Technically, the military did remove the president by force. However, they only did so because of popular demand, which blurs the line between "coup" and "revolution."
The reason for the U.S. government's preoccupation with terms is the $1.6 billion in foreign aid it gives to the Egyptian Army every year, as it has since 1979 as part of the Egypt-Israeli peace settlement. (Something which has made many Egyptians question the U.S. government's intentions over the years.) There is a stipulation in this agreement which says that the foreign aid must cease in the event of a coup. The U.S. government does not want to have to put this clause into effect, because doing so would compromise the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. The Egyptian military has also used much of the U.S. foreign aid money to by weapons and equipment from U.S. companies.
The other issue raised by this change of events is whether or not Morsi's removal from office was legitimate. But I share the opinion of many on this issue: if Morsi had wished to demonstrate his commitment to the democratic process, he should have offered to hold immediate re-elections, and let the people decide by democratic vote whether or not he should stay. Instead, he gave a dictatorial response and refused to step down.
Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood had already demonstrated their unwillingness to listen to outside opinion. For the last year, they have ignored every suggestion. They made no progress in addressing Egypt's multitude of pressing issues. They had the chance to make history as the founders of Egypt's progress; instead, they made history as another failed iteration of Egypt's government.
I am confident that the next phase will be more successful. After Morsi's removal, the head judge of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour, was appointed interim President. He assembled a cabinet of technocrats and chose economist Hazem el-Beblawi as Prime Minister. He also appointed Muhammed ElBaradei as interim Vice President. ElBaradei has been an active and eloquent voice of the opposition movement in Egypt since the revolution began in January 2011.
The existing Parliament has been dissolved, and elections for a new Parliament will take place this fall. Presidential elections will follow in February 2014. In the meantime, a committee will form to revise the existing Egyptian constitution and address some of the items that have been controversial. Having a constitution in place prior to presidential elections will help to ensure that the next president does not exceed the boundaries of his office.
Stay tuned...
